Facebook to Buy Back $6 billion in Stock

Facebook is buying back up to $6 billion of its stock from shareholders, the company announced in a SEC filing on Friday.

The board of directors of Facebook has authorized a share buyback of up to $6 billion, a move that might be able to placate investors especially after the issue of fake news on the social network broke out.

“The timing and actual number of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of factors, including price, general business and market conditions, and alternative investment opportunities,”

-the company said in its filing.

Shares in Facebook rose over 1% on the news in after-hours trading.Facebook also announced that its chief accounting officer, Jas Athwal, is retiring after 9 years at the company in a separate filing. His last day will be February 27.The decision comes after a precipitous decline in the stock price earlier this month when Facebook warned investors that revenue growth would slow next year. Earlier this week, Facebook said it had uncovered more instances in which it had overstated how much consumers interact with its content. Advertisers rely on these measurements when deciding to buy ads. And Facebook is grappling with allegations that fake news on the giant social network fueled misinformation and sowed division during the presidential election and may have even influenced the outcome.